Common Canine Diseases and When to Call the Vet

Common Canine Diseases – Is Your Dog Displaying Symptoms?

If you make sure your dog’s vaccinations are up to date, feed him a healthy diet and keep him clean and exercised, he should be fairly resistant to the most common canine diseases. However no dog is completely immune and it depends how often they socialize with other dogs too. Here is a short breakdown of the most common canine diseases and what to be on the lookout for.

We’ll start with the nastiest of all the diseases in dogs – Rabies. Rabies is a viral infection passed from the saliva of an infected dog. It affects the central nervous system. Symptoms of rabies are many and can include fever, behavioral changes, aggression and eventual breakdown of co-ordination of motor functions, eventually leading to death. There is no cure for rabies at this time so vaccination is important.

Heartworm is another common canine diseases that can be fatal, but also preventable. Heartworm is transmitted via mosquitos and affects the heart. The consequences of heartworm is congestive heart failure. To prevent heartworm, there are various medications you can give your dog on a monthly basis. Heartworm medication can also be combined with treatment for other parasites, for an all round treatment.

Parvovirus is a virus which attacks a dog’s intestines and displays the usual intestinal symptom such as vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite. Parvo can be sometimes be cured, but the virus is very resistant and a dog’s environment needs to be treated, sometimes for weeks to make sure it has been completely eradicated.

Canine diabetes usually affects older, female, overweight dogs and symptoms include excessive thirst and more urinating than is normal. Canine diabetes can lead to organ and eye damage among other complications.

It’s probably best to call the vet when you observe any unusual symptoms. In fact if your dog has any changes in behavior or eating habits, or seems to be drinking a lot more water than usual, it’s a sign that it could be one of the common canine diseases, or even some other health problem, so best to get it checked out sooner rather than later.